fall books

Magic You Can Do Right At Home!

Reading and sharing books and stories to kids is so powerful for brain development it’s almost magic and what could be better than some fall book magic? Here are some wonderful ones to share with your child.

Before reading Anne O’Brien and Susan Gal’s awesome book, see how many magic spells you and your child can think of, like Abracadabra and Hocus Pocus. At our house, even the adults say Open Sesame when opening the garage door. Once you’ve thought of a few, get ready for the spell of Hocus Pocus, It’s Fall and be enchanted.

The pictures and words bring the autumn season right to your laps. The pages spread out, the colors pop off the page, and the words tickle the ear. Afterwards, go for a walk outside, maybe find a stick for a wand, and think of some more magic words. What a delightful book.

Have you heard of the very silly song, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly? It’s been around for a few generations and the old lady swallows one item after another to get rid of the fly. Of course, each item gets bigger and bigger until she swallows a horse. The book, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves, by Lucille Colandro, is like the song.

The leaves are brightly colored but that doesn’t make them taste any better.

Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber and Leslie Evans is exactly what kids like to do in leaves, jump right in. The bigger the pile, the better. The words and pictures are so vivid we can almost smell the smells and touch the lines and bumps of the leaves. The book includes the names of some common leaves and their shapes. Maybe you can find some too?

Applesauce Season by Eden Lipson and Mordicai Gerstein turns making applesauce into an adventure. Information about apples is woven into the story. Have we been taking apples for granted? We won’t after this book. Making applesauce is the perfect activity after reading. It makes the book come to life. Another fall book magic.

These are just four of dozens and dozens of books about fall. But the books you read to your child can be about anything. Reading books and stories downloads language into the brain. It also increases the brain’s processing speed for language. What are some of your seasonal and other favorites to share with kids?

When the nights start earlier and the temperature is cooler, snuggling up with a book and a blankie is so inviting. There are some wonderful books about the fall season to share with young children.

Have you discovered the story Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller? The family picks out a squash at the Farmer’s Market but it never makes it to the table. Instead, Sophie thinks it is just the right size to cuddle, draws a face for it, and gives it a name. She takes the squash around with her, just like an imaginary friend. But a squash doesn’t last the way a special blanket does. I’m not sure if reading this story would help kids eat squash or not, but they could draw faces on other fruits and vegetables and turn them into friends. Kids could have conversations with them, or let them talk to each other.

A very silly story is Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka. This is for kids that understand some of the changes in the fall. Do apples turn orange and pumpkins red? Do squirrels fly? How about leaves, do they fall down or float up? This story has many things all mixed up and kids delight in both the words and the wonderful pictures.

In the book When The Leaf Blew In, by Steve Metzger, one fall leaf blows into the barn and creates a zany series of events. This story is really good for sequencing. Kids often confuse the order of what has happened, especially if there is a problem, such as who had the toy first. They forget that they may have finished with something and only remember how they were using an object just before someone else began. A story such as this one can help them practice cause and effect. Doing the actions is fun too.

There are so many great stories for fall it’s hard to choose. But reading any book with kids helps them with build their brain library. What fall books does your child like?